How to Deal with Social Anxiety: 9 Powerful Tips 1. Identify what situations cause the most anxiety. Choose one situation and divide that situation into small steps that are not overwhelming. Then, practice each of those small step situations until you feel very comfortable engaging in it. For example, if you find it difficult to introduce yourself in social or work settings, divide this situation into the following steps: 1) spending a few minutes around the target person, or his/her desk or cubicle; 2) making brief eye-contact and smiling; 3) saying “hi”, “how you’re doing…?” or “welcome,” and then 4) fully introducing yourself. You do not need achieve all these steps with the same person, but rather with each new anxiety-provoking situation. 2. Practice, practice, practice. Many of the anxiety-producing behaviors are simply “learned behaviors.” Once you teach yourself (and your brain) that you can overcome these situations, your brain will begin to neutralize these behaviors and no longer associate them with anxiety. 3. Be patient and take your time. You will most likely fail in your early attempts to put yourself out there. That’s fine. Keep at it. With time and practice, you will see some real change. 4. Talk about your social discomforts with someone you trust and also admires you. Sharing with someone who likes you, and looks up to us, may be quite powerful. Supportive individuals may give you the perspective and insight into a blind spot you are not able to fully appreciate on your own. They may also give you the encouragement and support we need to begin tackling these challenges. 5. Practice relaxation techniques (e.g., deep breathing; a few minutes of visualization exercises) prior to the anxiety-producing activity. 6. Consider ALL of your personal qualities. Remind yourself that your personal qualities (e.g., attractive, eloquent, smart, nice) may be the first qualities people notice about you, and not your particular fears. 7. Ask yourself: what is the worst thing that can happen? This is a powerful question. Seriously ask yourself this question and answer it fully. Take it to the worst of scenarios and keep asking yourself the question until you cannot reach a worst scenario. Often times, you’ll realize that you can handle the worst, just fine. 8. When an embarrassing situation occurs, remind yourself that it will pass, and that you will be able to handle it.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:57:49 +0000
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